1. Starvation: Topping removes so much of the tree’s leafy crown that it dangerously reduces the tree’s food-making ability.

2. Shock: By removing the protective cover of the tree’s canopy, bark tissue is exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The resultant scalding can cause the tree’s death.

3. Insects and Disease: The exposed ends of topped limbs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion or decay fungi spores.4. Weak Limbs: New branches that grow from a stubbed limb are weakly attached and more liable to break from snow or ice weight.

5. Rapid New Growth: Instead of controlling the height and spread of the tree, topping has the opposite effect. New branches are more numerous and often grow higher than before.

6. Tree Death: Some tree species can’t tolerate major branch loss and still survive. At best, they remain weak and disease-prone.7. Ugliness: A topped tree is a disfigured tree. Even with new growth it never regains the grace and character of its species.8. Cost: The true cost of topping is often hidden – lower property values, expense of removal and replacement if the tree dies.

When a decision is made to reduce the size of an older tree, it can be topped, or it can be pruned properly. Qualified arborists use ‘crown reduction’ to control height when necessary. Selected limbs are removed at their junction with the trunk or a limb at least 1/3 the diameter of the removed limb.

Year 1: The topped tree is an ugly stub and a remnant of a once lovely tree. If pruned properly, the tree’s size is reduced but form and beauty are retained.

Year 3: Vigorous sprouts have sprung out of the topped tree in large numbers and are growing with abnormal rapidity. The pruned tree adds growth, but it does so more slowly and distributes it more normally.

Year 6: In a relatively short time, the topped tree is as tall – and far bushier and more dangerous – than it was to begin with. The properly pruned tree is safer, more beautiful, and its size is better controlled.

Trees are major capital assets in America’s cities and towns. Just as streets, sidewalks, sewers, public buildings and recreational facilities are a part of a community’s infrastructure, so are publicly owned trees. Trees-and, collectively, the urban forest-are important assets that require care and maintenance the same as other public property.

Trees are on the job 24 hours every day working for all of us to improve our environment and quality of life.

Without trees, the city is a sterile landscape of concrete, brick, steel and asphalt. Picture your town without trees. Would it be a place where you would like to live? Trees make communities livable for people. Trees add beauty and create an environment beneficial to our mental health. Trees:

Add natural character to our cities and towns.

Provide us with colors, flowers, and beautiful shapes, forms and textures.

Screen harsh scenery.

Soften the outline of masonry, metal and glass.

Can be used architecturally to provide space definition and landscape continuity.

Trees impact deeply on our moods and emotions, providing psychological benefits impossible to measure. A healthy forest growing in places where people live and work is an essential element of the health of the people themselves. Trees:

Create feelings of relaxation and well-being.

Provide privacy and a sense of solitude and security.

Shorten post-operative hospital stays when patients are placed in rooms with a view of trees and open spaces.

A well-managed urban forest contributes to a sense of community pride and ownership.